On Petersons

[puros_bran]

In regards to another thread I do not wish to highjack, but feeling I must comment for the New guys, and maybe even some of the old guys with little or no experiance with the brand..

Its no secret I love Stanwells.. Roughly 1/3 of my collection have or had an S on the stem... But my other 'low grade' pipe is Peterson.. (Actually the only other sub $100 pipe I will bother with)When you add the two together you have about half of my collection.

Petersons, with a little care, are every bit the pipe Stanwells are.
It really only comes down to whether you want a little flair or you want a solid 'classic' shape.

I promise you if you follow my advise here 9 out of 10 Petes will smoke as good as anything on the market. (I'll comment on the other 10% in a minute)

The first thing you do when you get a new Pete, or even an estate that is younger than 20 years or so, is gather up some high proof rum/vodka/etc, a roll of paper towels, and some bristle & fluffy cleaners.. Soak the paper towel in the spirit and rub the bowl out, over and over and over until you are to bare wood. No color on the last soaked paper towel. Then you remove the stem and do the same with the bristles & fluffys in the shank.. Only when they come out totally uncolored are you good to go.. You will never smoke that stain out, I've heard some say you can but all you are doing is coating over the stain... Its still there, and if you puff it up a bit to much it will flavor your tobacco..

The next thing you do, before you ever touch that stem to your mouth is get some extra virgin olive oil and give it a good coating with a paper towel soaked in oil, DON'T DIP IT. Just let it soak over night covered in oil.. In the morning the excess oil can be whiped off.. By that time the alcohol should be dried out, put the stem in the pipe, load with tobacco, away you go..

The 10% that doesn't smoke right is usually in the drilling... I've never seen it except in bent pipes. I've heard everything from a gap in the mortise to poor design of the p-lip... Nonsense... If your pipe doesn't draw at least on par with a Dunhill or Charatan etc (don't expect a wide open Italian draw, its an English style pipe) its going to take some drill bits and very careful work OR a trip to a pipe repair guy to get it right.. I advise you send it off, but if your as cheap as me and are willing to risk screwing your pipe up.. The problem is usually the stem going down so far as to block the air hole.. Simple solution is to chamfer the air hole enough to open it up.. A dremel tool comes in real handy for doing this..otherwise your in for a lot of frikking work, don't even attempt a full blown drill.. I'd show ya pictures of what can happen there but fortunatly I didn't take any...lol..

You can IF VERY VERY VERY careful open the whole air way.. Check the gauge by putting various bits in until you find one that just barely won't fit, then go a size up and carefully drill that bad boy out.. Your going to screw your pipe if you aren't stupid insanely careful here.. I advise against this, I double advise against using a drill to do this, but it can be done..

Sounds like a lot of work but we are talking 30 minutes and 8-10 hrs of wait... What's that in a lifetime? Petersons are solid pipes if you desire a more 'classic' shape than Stanwell normally provides.

 

[TallSmoke]

My Peterson Aran bent smokes so well I am looking at buying a straight one or something similar in the Peterson lineup. I'll definitely use these tips, PB. Thanks!.

 

[Puff Daddy]

I'll add a comment. Roslares - the Petes with the faux amber fishtail stems (acrylic) are great smokers, I have a couple and love em. The stems are so much better than the vulcanite ones and they (thankfully) are not P-lips, which suck big time. They also have a bowl coating that I had no issues with and I generally don't like bowl coatings. These 2 pipes convinced me that I need to collect my favorite Peterson shapes in this style of pipe.

 

[puros_bran]

I think I already said this but just in case.. I've never seen a straight Pete with a draw problem.

And I forgot to mention if you just can not stand vulcanite they have a couple lines with acrylic stems, or for around $20-25 you can send them off to a pipe guy to get one made.


I know some think you shouldn't have to 'work' on a new pipe.. I agree, unfortunately I can't afford a rack of Castellos, S Bangs,and the like, I make do with what I can make do with.... Stanwells and Petes.. Petes are generally a lil cheaper than the Stanwells so the extra $20 or 30 minutes aint that big a deal to bring them to Stannie standards...

Alternately if you don't want to deal with it, look to the estate market for older Petes.. It seems like they started dip stain in the late 80's early 90's so anything earlier than that should be good to go.

 

[puros_bran]

I was typing while you were Pdiddy....

P lips are a love/hate thing.. I got no problem with them.. I'm not sure they do what they are advertised to do, but they make the pipe easier to hang out of your mouth. The good thing is ANY pipe they make with a P lip they also make as a fishtail...


And just FYI, its not the bowl coating that's the issue.. Its the stain under the bowl coating that's the issue... I've heard they have quit doing the dip staining but I haven't bought a bran spankin new Pete in several years because I have bought unsmoked estates from sometime back instead.

 

[Midnight Blues]

P, your absolutely right (as usual). My first pipes were Pete's, I have two that I smoke regularly one of which I smoke every day at work. I agree that Petersons should not be overlooked.

 

[Frost]

I just got my first Pete a little while ago...just starting to get broken in a little bit. I have smoked it at least twice a week since I won it but didn't bother to wipe out the dip stain. Nonetheless, if it didn't provide a good smoke I wouldn't keep coming back to it. I think it may be the lightest pipe I own. Based on my almost instant affinity for this pipe and it's performance so far, I feel I can predict with a reasonable degree of certainty that there will be more Petes finding there way into my racks in the relatively near future. Pic below (notice the oxidation...my only gripe, and really that is just because I am lazy)

 

[puros_bran]

Pipetongue's mystical Mr Clean Magic Whipes (at least I think they were Mr Clean, ask him or search on here) will take care of that oxidation in about 45 seconds...

EVO oil will prevent it from coming back...


(So will facial oils, but that grosses most people out when I say it...lol )

 

[Winslow]

Yes Carlos,what you say is true about the dip staining and the straight shapes having a good
draw.I have a few Peterson Year pipes that are precious to me,when I go to a wedding or some
other formal function this is the baby I take with to smoke;bought it lightly smoked for $105 and
will never part with it.

Winslow

 

[Slow Puffs]

Nothing wrong with Pete's

I like the Donegal series... straight pipes and don't mind the "P-Lip".

BTW, I came across a description today "P-Lip" and "P-Lip 1". Anyone know the difference? It was the same pipe and model # but a choice of the two?

 

[jhuggett]

I love that bulldog Winslow! Every time I see it my eyes glaze over.

 

[earl]

Pipetongue's mystical Mr Clean Magic Whipes (at least I think they were Mr Clean, ask him or search on here) will take care of that oxidation in about 45 seconds...

EVO oil will prevent it from coming back...


(So will facial oils, but that grosses most people out when I say it...lol )

Yes, PB, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is great at taking off oxidation. After removal I use the Walker Briar Works carnuba wax and the stems come looking as good as I've seen after someone works on a stem with power equipment. If you're a fan of classic styles with metal adornment, particularly silver, can't beat a Pete. earl

 

[Dock]

My experiences with the brand haven't mirrored yours Bran. I've owned two of the SH series, the original and the Watson. Both were smooths and bought as lightly smoked estates. Both had fills. These were $350.00 pipes when new and they still were filled badly on the fronts of their bowls. :twisted:

Early on in my pipesmoking career I bought two from my local tobacco shop. One was a huge system pipe and the other was one of those British Racing Green models. Both had the p-lip which I could never get used to and both tasted just godawful through dozens and dozens of smokes. I could never get either to break in and I was frying my tongue in the process. For a while I thought it was my technique. This changed when I bought a $5.00 Dunhill at a flea market in NYC while in school. This thing blew the doors off of my Pete's and my Graybow :lol: Not sure why I bought the two SH series pipes later. I had this grand idea of collecting all of em' with that neat little display shelf :lol: That ended quickly though...

 

[Anonymous]

I think I'm down to around six of them now, with at least that many given to friends along the way. The only one that didn't taste exceptionally good (even new) was a later one with the dip stain problem. That one tasted like you were smoking drain cleaner, but the solution is fairly simple, as PeeBee's pointed out. Just be careful not to get alcohol on the top or sides of the bowl itself, or the finish will be ruined. (As I recall, LL recommends cotton balls and an eye dropper).

As far as fills go, their stuff in the last 20-30 years seems to follow the Savinelli pattern : a gazillion different series names, nearly any of which can sport putty fills. The Rossalares (spelling ?), at least as of a couple years ago, were guaranteed fill-free, along with gold mounted spigots and such. LL posted a complete list of those Peterson said were always cleans a while ago (possibly lost in the server change-over ?).

Petersons are one of those improbable surprises in pipes -- a lot of people (yr. obt. svt. among them) just love them. And it isn't hit-or-miss with them either. The brain has trouble reconciling how good they taste with how inexpensive most of them are.

If I were still buying them, I'd be picking up standard shapes from around 1960 to 1980 (?) -- Supremes, Deluxes, Premieres (fill-free then) and nicer Killarneys, Killdares &c. (nearly so). Without the "Pre-Republic" fairy dust on them, these are still often very reasonable, even on Flea Bay, where 3/4 of the listings are "Buy it Nows" and the "auctions only" setting has to be re-clicked every time you change search titles. (Ebay, as far as I'm concerned, eats doggie dookie. But that's a separate rant). Shamrocks I'd avoid, as these were the real bottom of the Peterson barrel, yet people go nuts over them. I think it's the name. And the nickel bands with fake hallmarks that everybody thinks are silver and aren't.

Petes : Good Pipes, IMHO. Aesthetically, no so hot (being charitable). But I love 'em.

 

[Sasquatch]

I kinda sorta tend to agree with DPG here. I've had better and worse Petes, and certainly seeing a 300 dollar pipe with bad fills, a stained bowl, and a poorly aligned stem makes a guy wonder what the "lesser" pipes get, in terms of quality control.

What's happened to me is that I've slowly gotten better and better pipes, and more handmades, and unfortunately, the run of the mill Peterson can't compare. So what I notice on the Petersons is their hugely thick stems and ridiculously large buttons, and the fact that the lower grade stems turn from black to gray in about a day.

So I might buy a Rosslare, and I'd expect an excellent smoking pipe, except I can get a Radice in around that price point (just as an example), and I would argue that it's a better pipe all around.

All that said, there are certainly Peterson pipes that are very, very good smokers. I've never heard a bad word about a 303 for example. Never. And I've got a Pete or two that are simply excellent smokers.

I hate to say it, but I can't imagine a guy being happy with a factory fresh peterson if he's ever experienced a "better" pipe. I doubt very much if I could buy any Peterson available new, and not immediately take it to the bench to improve the airway and the button, and probably deal with the chamber as well.

Anyway, to each his own... I'm not here to tell anyone that they don't in fact like a pipe they think they do! This is just my current thinking on the Petersons I've owned, and am currently seeing for sale.

 

[Amenhotep04]

How does a 'ridiculously large button' influence the smoke of the pipe?

:farao:

 

[Dock]

How does a 'ridiculously large button' influence the smoke of the pipe?

:farao:

It's not so much the size of the button. It's the tiny little hole aimed northward that springs forth from the button! I'd rather the smoke come in at my tongue rather than the roof of my mouth! :lol:

 

[Amenhotep04]

Okay, that makes sense to me.

Thanks.

:farao:

 

[Idlefellow]

Ah, the great "Peterson's" debate! I bought my first one about 40 years ago (it's the one on the left) and I've never had a bad one. Love the p-lip; in fact the only one I own that doesn't have it is the Mycroft (fourth from the right) and I wish it did. No other pipe (including the solitary Dunhill that you can't see - far right on the lower level) ever convinced me otherwise. Great pipes at reasonable prices and unmitigated "cool" factor.

Now, I wouldn't pay $350 for one, but then I wouldn't...well, never mind .

Winslow, that bulldog is FINE, and Frost's billiard is quite nice as well; I'm partial to the straight or slightly bent shapes.

Sorry about the stems; guess I need to try that Mr. Clean stuff!

 

[Doc Manhattan]

Heck of nice collection of "the thinking man's pipe", Idle!

The p-lip isn't my cup of tea, but a century of smokers means more than a few love it.